Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for optimizing terminal initialization in a wireless communication system.
Related Art
3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long-term evolution (LTE) is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity. The 3GPP LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement.
A current initialization process of a terminal when the terminal is switched on may include multiple times of checks and synchronizations. For example, the current initialization process of the terminal may include an identification process (e.g. personal identification number (PIN) verification), an synchronization process of essential data (e.g. session keys, information necessary for accessing correct network), and a transmission process of essential data (e.g. phonebook, messages stored on the subscriber identification module (SIM)/universal SIM (USIM), user preferences . . . ). Due to the multiple times of checks and synchronizations in addition to the boot time of the operating system, the overall boot time may take a long time which may seriously impact the user experience.
Various items have been discussed in order to reduce the overall boot time of the terminal. Among the various items, it is difficult to optimize network research and connection process more than it is without considering protocols updates. However, there may be plenty of room for optimization in processes related to a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). For example, the data not to be used for accessing network may be unnecessary before accessing the network. For another example, if the terminal was has been used with the same SIM/USIM, it may be unnecessary to reload data that can be stored in the terminal. That is, when the terminal is switched on and terminal initialization process is performed in the UICC, optimization may be possible.